But a spokesman for Twitter refused to respond to the issue directly, reiterating instead that the company “does not mediate content.” The social networking site reiterated its standard policy in response to calls to remove dozens of the “dead Jew” keyword tweets.

Instead, the spokesman added, “If we are alerted to content that may be in violation of our terms of service, we will investigate each report and respond according to the policies and procedures outlined in our support pages.”

Those terms of service state that Twitter cannot delete tweets but allows for accounts generating content in breach of its rules or which are considered illegal to be suspended. The site will not hand over details of account holders unless compelled to do so by a judge.

French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira has warned Twitter that it has a duty to uphold the country's laws on racism and anti-Semitism. The warning came against the backdrop of increasing attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in France.

A community watchdog organization noted two weeks ago that anti-Semitic acts have surged by 45 percent since the start of this year.